The Hippocratic Myth: Why Doctors Are Under Pressure to Ration Care, Practice Politics, and Compromise their Promise to Heal

On March 16, 2011, in Book Reviews, by Editor

When we’re ill, we put our trust in doctors who promise to put our wellbeing first and pledge to do us no harm. But medicine’s expanding capabilities and soaring costs threaten to make this commitment obsolete. Increasingly, warns Gregg Bloche, society is calling upon physicians to ration care and to put their skills to use on behalf of insurance companies, hospital bureaucrats, government officials, and the courts. Doctors are answering this call, putting patient trust at risk, and endangering citizens’ liberty and privacy.

Gray Matter: A Neurosurgeon Discovers the Power of Prayer . . . One Patient at a Time by David Levy and Joel Kilpatrick

On March 11, 2011, in Book Reviews, by Editor

A perfect blend of medical drama and spiritual insight, Gray Matter is a fascinating account of Dr. David Levy’s decision to begin asking his patients if he could pray for them before surgery. Some are thrilled. Some are skeptical. Some are hostile, and some are quite literally transformed by the request.

The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet by Robb Wolf

On December 31, 2010, in Book Reviews, by Editor

They say the worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it. The Paleo Solution’s value is far reaching for the knowledge that it offers. Robb has taken a unique approach to health and lifestyle that will help countless people.

Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes

On December 31, 2010, in Book Reviews, by Editor

In his New York Times best seller, Good Calories, Bad Calories, Taubes argued that our diet’s overemphasis on certain kinds of carbohydrates—not fats and not simply excess calories—has led directly to the obesity epidemic we face today. The result of thorough research, keen insight, and unassailable common sense, Good Calories, Bad Calories immediately stirred controversy and acclaim among academics, journalists, and writers alike. Michael Pollan heralded it as “a vitally important book, destined to change the way we think about food.”

Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health

On December 31, 2010, in Book Reviews, by Editor

Noted science journalist Taubes probes the state of what is currently known and what is simply conjectured about the relationship among nutrition, weight loss, health, and disease. What Taubes discovers is that much of what passes for irrefutable scientific knowledge is in fact supposition and that many reputable scientists doubt the validity of nutritional advice currently promoted by the government and public health industry.

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

On December 30, 2010, in Book Reviews, by Editor

Police work has always included an element of an arms race between criminals trying to outwit authorities and get away with a crime and police trying to prevent this from happening. This battle of wits is especially true in the case of murder. Science in the latter part of the 1800′s had exponentially added to the store of chemicals whose use could prove to be fatal to humans. Science was great at finding all sorts of new elements and chemical compounds.

Ayurveda – The Science of Life

On March 26, 2010, in Writing & Publishing, by Editor

Ayurveda, is the oldest and most holistic medical system on this planet today. It is a system of traditional medicine native to the Indian Subcontinent and practiced in other parts of the world as a form of alternative medicine. It is an age old scientific method of healing with natural products. Knowledge of Ayurveda has been recorded in two of the Vedic texts: the Atharva Veda and the Rig Veda, which are more than 5,000 years old.